Favorite Care Package

One Saturday I got a “call for package” slip in my mailbox. When I stepped up to the window they handed me a whole coconut, address written in Sharpie and postage stapled to the husk. I got so many odd looks as I carried it with me across campus! Brenda (Sutliff) Reid ’88, Cedarville, Ohio

My mom always used to send care packages for different holidays but my favorite was the one she sent before Halloween one year. Inside was a pair of black and orange boxer shorts with glow in the dark spiders on them! My mom was the coolest. Chrissy (Rising) Faulkner ’98, London, Ohio

I remember how cool it was to get a ticket in your mailbox that said “call for package.” This one day I went to cash mine in and the woman behind the window asked me if this was really a pie? I looked and it was a solid cardboard box that said this side up and I said, “I do not know.” When I opened it, sure enough, a friend had sent me a shoofly pie from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Needless to say, I was very popular very quickly with all my East Coast friends.
Now my mother’s favorite care package from Cedarville to home was the time that I mailed my laundry home. It was the end of fall term and I was headed home for the Christmas holiday. My ride had a small car and a told all the riders they could only bring one bag. Being a confessed over packer, and knowing that what I needed at home was dirty, I mailed my laundry home. My mother has never let me forget it and has told my children the story. They have now joined in on the teasing some 30 years later. Jane (Sutherland) Bostwick ’82, Upper Chichester, Pennsylvania

While I passionately loved my time at Cedarville, I was also very homesick for my beautiful Northwest. One December I opened a care package from home to find fresh, fragrant Douglas fir branches. Sharilyn (Lewis) Stachler ’95, Tacoma, Washington

My grandma sent me a winter care package. I got the mail before going to Chuck’s and decided to get my lunch and then open the package. I was sitting in Chuck’s and opened the package only to discover the box that it was wrapped in was a bright green Always maxi pads box … thank you, Grandma! Inside? A fruit cake.
Cathy (Borton) Johnson ’04, Castle Rock, Colorado
My grandma sent me a really sweet care package during my first few weeks at the ’Ville, but the best part of it was the note she included. Only one line of it was about how she hoped my classes were going well, and the whole rest of the page was asking all about the stuffed animals I’d brought to school with me and whether they were making friends with other stuffed animals in the dorm! It definitely made for a memorable care package. Elisa (Yanega) Davis ’08, Columbus, Ohio

My freshman year I picked up a heavy package from the post office. Seeing it was from my dad, I rushed back to my room to open it. Inside were school supplies — paper, pens, highlighters, a stapler (with extra staples), and a car bearing with my name on it. (I still have the stapler and bearing.) Lucinda (Green) Fleming ’92, West Liberty, Ohio

Because I am from Florida, my favorite care package was the one I received with leftover hurricane supplies in it. My mom sent tuna, soup, and canned fruit with a note that said, “Hurricane season is over, and we don’t need these anymore. Hope you can use them. Love, Mom.” Nicole (Carpenter) Lovelady ’01, Zellwood, Florida

My older brother was traveling through Cedarville one summer and left me a plastic shoebox behind a ceiling tile in a closet in the Dixon Ministry Center filled with Oreos, Twinkies, and candy. When I got back to school in the fall, he sent me a puzzle that I had to decode which sent me on a hunt around campus. I was shocked to find that care package full of junk food that had been hiding there for months. I still have a photo of it. Andrea (Patterson) Verwys ’01, Fairfax, Virginia

My brother sent me a birthday in a box — a cake mix, frosting, balloons, party favors, and loads and loads of loose confetti that dumped out in front of the post office. Carol Lee ’96, Cedarville, Ohio

My mom would make a box of little wrapped presents for every day between Thanksgiving and when I’d be home for Christmas break. It was so fun to open a little gift every day! Jessica (Meissner) Dillow ’00, Whitmore Lake, Michigan

Each year my mom would send me birthday gifts and care package items from California for my birthday in September. My favorite part was always the raspberry cheesecake that I would share with dorm mates. It was always a great time quickly followed by a terrible stomach ache. I found out later I am allergic to dairy products. Needless to say cheesecake didn’t like me as much as I liked it, but I loved sharing with my friends. Josh Flynn ’06, Murrieta, California

Without fail for my five years at Cedarville, my father would wrap the weekend sports pages of my hometown newspaper and mail them to me so that they would arrive by that Wednesday. I never lost touch with what was going on back in my hometown. Better yet was that every once in a while my mother would slip a five-dollar bill into the package. Five dollars went a long way at the college snack shop. Why, I could even go to the local Taco Bell where I would get three tacos and a Coke all for a dollar. Dale Schilling ’72, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio

When that guy was stealing underwear from Printy Hall laundry room, my grandfather sent me the newspaper article and some money in case I was missing anything. Stephanie (Saville) Ahrens ’96, Springfield, Virginia

Money, so I could eat out instead of at the cafeteria. Jen (Freebourn) Confer ’83, Stow, Ohio

My roommate, Hassie, received a care package every month from her great-aunt. It contained hand-knit winter hats, prunes, pencils, and other crazy things. I looked forward to it every month because it was so funny!” Kerri (Vander Molen) Scott ’97, Springboro, Ohio

Tastykakes! David Moser ’11, Columbia, Missouri

My mom would bake me a funny cake — a Pennsylvania Dutch treat! Now she sends them to my son at Cedarville! Deb (Schwartz) Zender ’88, Harleysville, Pennsylvania

My aunt sent me six kinds of homemade cookies my freshman year in one large box. They were the absolute best thing anyone could ever receive! Her cookies were the best, and everyone wanted me to share them. They were still the best cookies I have ever had! Ken Nichols ’95, Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania

My sister sent me the best boxes: one was filled with more than a dozen different kinds of bubble gum, and another time she sent dessert layers — oatmeal cookies, Rice Krispy treats, and trail mix. Hello, “freshman 15!!” Catie Walker ’06, Chengdu, China

My mom would WEEKLY send me the “funnies” from our Cleveland paper. I am not sure if it was more of a compulsion of hers or if she thought that I couldn’t survive without them. Either way, I loved getting them! Paula (Thompson) Ziegenfuss ’05, Jackson, Missouri

My mom dressed up L’eggs eggs (remember those ladies?) like love bugs for Valentine’s Day. She sent them filled with M&M’s — back then, plain was all there were. Kathy (Howell) Sturgis ’76, Cedarville, Ohio

Whoopie pies! Bradley Halladay ’06, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

My grandma shipped me a brownie “birthday cake” in the mail with icing, decorations, and all. It instantly made me the most popular girl in the dorm and was the most delicious thing ever after having not having Grandma’s cookies, cakes, or brownies for a few months. Mary (Thengvall) Rotman’07, Santa Rosa, California

My mom sent me a care package once with wadded up one-dollar bills inside with some cookies. It was so much fun gathering them all up counting them! Becky (Seguin) Eder ’96, Richland, Washington

Pringles and Peanut M&M’s. Tina (Mulanax) Wessel ’94, Canton, Ohio

I got a care package once from my youth group back home. It had some nice encouraging notes and goodies in it — cookies, candy, and such. There were a couple of funny things in there, too. I remember this small package that looked like a wad of money wrapped in paper, but it was also rolled in packing tape. Fifteen feet of tape later, I discovered a single packet of powdered coffee creamer wrapped in a tissue.
As a second, we lived by Baptist Bible College, and there was a girl from Cedarville that went to school there. My mom and her mom took turns making baked goodies for each of our birthdays. The email from the mail room said, “You have a box of cupcakes.” That was super! David Erlandson ’06, Painesville, Ohio

My mom sent plain cupcakes and Christmas cookies with frosting cans, food coloring, sprinkles, etc. so my roommates and I could decorate them all! It was a Christmas tradition at my house that I was missing out on, so she mailed the tradition to me! Katherine (Farrell) Henz ’08, Shiremanstown, Pennsylvania

One year before Christmas, my grandma sent me a “card” she’d made shaped like a Christmas tree. The best part about it was that the “ornaments” were dimes and quarters to use for laundry. Lyndell Rising ’91, Cedarville, Ohio

Love. The individual items were never as important as the message they conveyed. A care package on a bad day was like finding a parachute strapped to your back when you had only been focusing on the feeling that you were falling. Tim Williams ’96, Pueblo, Colorado

Snickerdoodle cookies and a pair of flip-flops all the way from Brazil. And the best part, it came from my girl! Caleb Alley ’13, Angola, Indiana

Tastykakes are still my favorite! Now that I live in Texas, my brother sends me Tastykakes so I don’t forget the East Coast. My friends in the dorm loved when my mom sent birthday cake so that they could share. Missy (MacMichael) Reimer ’86, Duncanville, Texas

My aunt would often send me letters just to say hi. She would always include a couple of bucks for the vending machines, or a packet of coffee or tea, or a pack of gum. They weren’t the biggest care packages I received, but the fact that I was surprised to check my P.O. box and have a reminder of home was what counted! Brett Ryan Buckingham ’02, Grand Rapids, Michigan

My freshman year my unit mate’s mom would send a “party in a box” to the whole unit on a regular basis. It was always full of handmade or fun, thoughtful gifts for every single one of us so we all felt loved and thought of! Roxanne (England) Kaynor ’99, Zeeland, Michigan

From my parents, a large tin of Danish butter cookies at least once per year without fail. I did share just a little bit. Amy (Ludic) Gilbert ’86, Cedarville, Ohio

Even though it wasn't homemade, I really enjoyed getting the “finals package” that parents could purchase from the college. Mine included a chicken dinner, and it was awesome!! Mom also sent peanut M&M’s, as those were my favorite! Jill (Sandy) Coston ’87, Elida, Ohio

My best care package would be a stuffed bear my senior year from my mom. A close second would be the care package from my church at Christmas. All the ladies would make different candies and cookies. Then, they’d mix them all in a package to be sent to college students from the church. That was great! Karen (Dachenbach) Watters ’86, Oskaloosa, Iowa

Sadly I never received a care package. But I do remember raiding the fridge almost every night! Jon Shrubsole ’97, Cedarville, Ohio

Caramel corn! The ladies at our church would send a huge care package about twice a year. They would send special notes, a variety of snacks, some money for a pizza run. A great addition would be when a special lady would include a large container of caramel corn. Now we have sent a few care packages to college kids over the years. Thanks for the reminder; I think it’s time to bake a big batch of caramel corn, jot a few notes, and send some encouragement to the college kids in our life now! Kristine (Deshetsky) Bickel ’94, Howell, Michigan

My freshman year, my mother sent me a care package every single day. (I was her oldest child, and I’m pretty awesome, so what do you expect?) Except come the last quarter, the poor woman ran out of things to send ... so I started receiving not-quite-as-fat envelopes filled with what appeared to be the rejects from her junk drawer — half-empty bags of pink latex balloons? Check. Veggie Tales Madame Blueberry coin purse with about 14 cents inside? Check. MY NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK SCRAPBOOK!? ... double check! Or the best could have been when she sent me a Cheesecake Factory cheesecake for NO REASON and I got a red-alert-urgent-all-caps email from the post office to come get it, and then had to walk into chapel carrying a HUGE box with dry ice vapors wafting around me! Kate Martin ’05, West Lafayette, Indiana

5 Hour Energy. Josh Roose ’12, Tustin, Michigan

I loved getting the care packages that Cedarville put together for us. They made it easy on my parents since they just had to send in a form and payment, then the College sent me a huge basket of goodies during the end of the semester. It was perfect! I was always surprised and was the envy of my hall! Ben Peterson ’99, Simpsonville, South Carolina